Prescription charges

Campaign for free prescriptions

A campaign to extend exemption from prescription charges to all people who have long-term conditions is gathering pace. Deborah Wain finds out the latest.

The Prescription Charges Coalition is a group of organisations fighting for an end to “unfair” prescription charges for people with long-term medical conditions in England.

Research published in the Prescription Charges Coalition’s ‘Paying the Price’ report makes for worrying reading.

One in three people in England who have a long-term condition and have to pay for their prescriptions have not collected their medication due to the cost. Of these, three quarters report that their health got worse as a result with ten per cent ending up in hospital.

In April this year, the cost of a single NHS prescription increased by 20p to £8.40 – the latest of 35 hikes in a period of 36 years. Many with a chronic condition like pulmonary hypertension pay upfront for their medications through a pre-payment certificate (PPC) - the cost of a three month PPC was frozen at £29.10 and the annual PPC at £104. The Department of Health says the freeze will “ensure that those with the greatest need” are protected.

However, the Prescription Charges Coalition is campaigning for exemption from prescription charges to be extended to all people in England who have long-term conditions. It argues that the current system, established in 1968 and largely unchanged since then, is out-of-date and arbitrary.

The group highlights that in recent years, there has been a broad political consensus that the current system is unfair as some long-term conditions qualify people for free prescriptions whilst others don’t. The sense of unfairness has been made worse by the introduction of free prescriptions for all people living in Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. Some 90 per cent of prescriptions across the country are dispensed for free.

The Prescription Charges Coalition is made up of nearly 40 organisations. The long list includes Asthma UK, MS Society, Cystic Fibrosis Trust and Stroke Society.

It argues: “Our research, surveying thousands of people with long-term conditions, demonstrates that prescription charges are a major barrier to people taking their medicines effectively, leading them to severely compromise their health.

“This results in poorer quality of life, worse health outcomes, additional treatment, unplanned hospital admissions, decreased productivity and increased reliance on benefits.”

The majority of people adversely affected by charges are of working age as those in full-time education or aged over 60 are among patients exempt anyway. As it stands, the Government has no plans to make any changes to the list of medical conditions which qualify (see right).

Patients who want to add their voice to the campaign are urged to write to their MP asking them to make prescriptions free for everyone with a long-term condition like PH. For more information, visit www.prescriptioncharges coalition.org.uk and follow the campaign on Twitter @PrescriptionCC. .

PHA UK plans to join the Prescription Charges Coalition in 2017. Look out for future updates on the campaign in Emphasis.

The majority of long-term medical conditions do not entitle people to exemption from prescription charges but some conditions do. The following qualify for an exemption certificate:

• Treatment for cancer; this includes treatment for the effects of cancer, or treatment for the effects of a current or previous cancer treatment • A permanent fistula requiring dressing • Forms of hypo-adrenalism such as

Addison’s disease • Diabetes insipidus and other forms of hypopituitarism • Diabetes mellitus, except where treatment is by diet alone • Hypoparathyroidism (blood deficiency which can cause muscle spasms) • Myxoedema (underactive thyroid) where thyroid hormone replacement is necessary • Myasthenia gravis (abnormal weakness of certain muscles) • Epilepsy requiring continuous anticonvulsive medication • A continuing physical disability which means you cannot go out without help from another person.